1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a system for realistically simulating the effects of area weapons on a battle field, and more particularly, to simulating the effect of area weapons on ground troops, vehicles, aircraft, equipment, structures, and weapons in a simulated battle field during combat training exercises.
2. Description of Related Art
The ability of a training system to effectively induce and maintain operational readiness in an army combat force is proportional to the ability of the system to generate training exercises which simulate an accurate, realistic combat environment that reinforces doctrine and applies penalties and rewards appropriate to the behavior of commanders, staffs, and individual soldiers. To generate training exercises which simulate an accurate, realistic combat environment, it is important to simulate the effects of area weapons on individual soldiers, vehicles, aircraft, equipment, structures, and weapons at a time which is as close as possible to the time that such effects would occur in an actual combat situation. Therefore, the effects imposed on participants in a training exercise should not be randomly applied and/or delayed in time from the precipitating actions of commanders and combat troops.
Distributed instrumentation systems have been used in the past to realistically simulate the effects of area weapons on a battlefield in order to assist in the warfare training of soldiers, including airmen, marines, sailors, army infantry soldiers, etc. in techniques that are necessary for conducting successful military operations. One such system determines the effects of a simulated minefield on troops and equipment that are moving through the simulated minefield. The position of troops and equipment (commonly referred to collectively as "players") is determined by affixing a "player detection device" (PDD) to each player. Alternatively, the location of players can be determined by a central computer. In addition, the location of each of a plurality of mines is known by either the player unit or the central computer. A military training exercise can then be initiated. The position of each of the simulated mines in the exercise must be identical for each of the players. The locations of the mines are determined by a bitmap. The location of the players and the location of the simulated mines are continuously compared, either in the player unit or in the central computer, in order to determine whether a player has detonated any of the simulated mines. Once a simulated mine has been detonated, that mine must be removed from the bitmap of simulated mines within the simulated minefield.
Accordingly, either the players must continuously communicate their position to the central computer, or the central computer must communicate the location of each of the mines within the simulated minefield to each of the players and update the minefield bit map at relatively frequent regular intervals. Whether the location of the mines is being transmitted to the PDDs or the locations of the players is being communicated to the central computer, a relatively large amount of information must be communicated between the central computer and the plurality of players involved in the exercise. Transmitting the massive amounts of information results in a high probability that incomplete or erroneous information will be received.
In addition, the currently available battlefield simulation systems do not have the ability to simulate air defenses, delivery of projectiles, and toxic or nuclear clouds. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a system that can simulate minefields, air defenses, delivery of projectiles, and toxic or nuclear clouds, all without the need to transmit excessive amounts of information between player units and a central computer.